Incomplete Metamorphosis
by sundrymunity
Summary: Ghetsis should know better than to disrespect his king.


This, Ghetsis thought to himself as he entered N's private room, was highly unusual. Though it made sense as N was such a child, probably hiding from the bad things in the world. He smirked a little and the blankets shifted, a hole being created by the movement and Ghetsis made his expression neutral and stared, speaking quietly but firmly.

"Come out."

"I don't want to. It's cold."

The cocoon stared back at Ghetsis with stormy blue eyes, the only thing poking out of the hole being a few strands of green hair. With a sigh the Sage brought his hand to his head, collecting his thoughts before looking up and sweeping his hand in front of him.

"My lord N, it is unbecoming of someone of your stature to hide themselves away as such-"

"Ghetsis, who is king?"

Silence. Ghetsis bit his lip in an effort to keep the harsh reply from coming out, how N was merely a puppet and not at all a king, but forced a realistic smile and bowed his head to hide the grimace his respectful voice disguised well.

"You are, my lord."

"Correct. Do you listen to my orders, or do I listen to yours?"

"... I listen to your orders, and you give thought to my suggestions."

"Also correct." What a cold, cheerful-sounding king, the sage thought as the grin took hold and he stood erect, closing his amusement-filled eyes.

"My apologies, my lord, I merely wished to suggest to you that cocooning yourself away may not be the best way to present yourself to the people, to your subjects _or _to your guests."

The king's head popped out of the thick blankets and he looked curiously at Ghetsis. "We have guests?"

"Two trainers, a boy and a girl, awaiting you downstairs."

There was only silence as the blankets slid off of N's form and curled around his naked body, and Ghetsis nearly frowned at the look of excitement the king suddenly had.

"You are dismissed, Ghetsis, if that is all. Thank you for telling me." N said, scooping up the blankets around him and waiting for Ghetsis to leave so he could dress. The sage wasted no time in leaving the disgustingly childish room, with toys scattered about by N's bed and the blankets a pale baby blue in contrast to his _son's _green hair. It was almost sickening, how naive and innocent N was, but Ghetsis reminded himself that the boy was merely someone that had no true human heart, someone to use to gain control of Unova's legendary dragons and of all the region's Pokémon for himself, and chuckled quietly as he turned the corner and graceful descended the stairs, closing an eye to the white blur that passed him downwards so happily.

There were no worries that the children would figure out the final plan; the base they had chosen for small operations and rest was just a large house in a thicker part of the Lostlorn Forest and that suited his _king _enough to be happy. No worries at all, though the sage frowned when he stepped into the entrance hall of the mansion and caught a glimpse of N's relaxed countenance when he was with the two strangers. What had their names been? Nothing important, Ghetsis was sure. There would be no need for them once N had control of one of the legendary dragons, after all, and they would be disposed of quickly and silently should they disrupt his personal agenda.

"I'm glad you two came to visit," N was saying as he took their hands and pulled them past Ghetsis, "I wanted to show you both something I think you'd like."

The man knew exactly what N was going to show them, though he followed to see their reactions and to keep an eye on the king. The three, followed by Ghetsis, twisted through the forest endlessly until a clearing came into view, many Pokémon playing and relaxing.

"How come they're all staying in there? Is there some sort of fence surrounding it?" Asked the boy, having noted the lack of any. Stupid boy. N wouldn't do something like that.

N smiled and pushed his hand forward, pressing against _solid air_. "There's a specially made glass surrounding their area. They are allowed to come and go at any time they wish by merely..." He took his hand off it and stepped through, the two trainers gawking. "By merely wanting to. I suppose it isn't very much like glass if you think about it like that, but more of a sort of protective force field. This way they can't be forced to leave through means of capture, kidnapping, things like that and yet be able to move in and out of the field as necessary."

The girl finally spoke, smiling a little in confusion. "I don't understand it but... It sounds cool! What do you think, Hilb?"

"I think it's impossible."

"And yet," N said as he took their hands once more and pulled them through, "you are standing in it. You may let out your Pokémon here without fear nor worry, so please relax."

Ghetsis watched for a moment, taking notes on what trainer had what and slipped away back to the base, signalling the Shadow Triad with a flick of his wrist. Even if they weren't seen, he could feel them.

"I want you three to make sure he causes no trouble while he's out there in his own little world. He is not to speak a word about our plans nor of what is happening currently, understand? Find some reason to draw him away should he get onto one of those topics or too close to it."

"Yes, Lord Ghetsis."

The presences disappeared and Ghetsis finally allowed himself to smile as he strode through the halls, descending into the laboratory that had been built under N's nose and without his approval. Just one less thing for the beloved _king _to worry about, and one less thing that he didn't need to know. He was stupid in that aspect, Ghetsis thought, because N trusted him too much while he still exercised his power. The boy doubted him somewhat Ghetsis knew, because of those _friends _he had gained, yet he felt compelled to trust the man anyways. Delicate experiences in N's childhood had caused him to have this impulsion, and it was _perfect_.

Much like the violet being suspended in amniotic fluid in front of him, one of many tried resurrections of the ancient Pokémon Genesect. This one was sure to work, and then the scientists would present their progress to N proudly. Ghetsis wasn't sure what N would think about it, but he had a back-up plan in case it didn't go through as well as he had prepared. A small team would still be working on reviving and completing the Pokémon as Ghetsis wanted it, though with such secrecy that was bound to go into it he didn't expect much to come from it and would be pleased if it turned out better than expected. It would have to be right under the watchful king's nose, after all, though that wasn't too hard with the new distractions of his _friends _up there. They were good for one thing after all.

"It looks almost complete. Are you adding the laser cannon to it as planned?"

"Yes sir. Once its vitals are completely stabilized we'll begin the implantation of the cannon onto its back and connect it to its nervous system so it can use it efficiently in battle. It won't be just a show, it will be prepared for any enemies that come our way, sir."

Ghetsis gave a curt nod to the scientist as the large group worked, and left back upstairs to give customary orders to the chef to prepare a dinner for ten, the usual vegetarian meal.

The three arrived nearly on time for the dinner, and Ghetsis gestured to the large dining room with a polite smile. "Please, you must allow us to feed you as _are _our guests."

N smiled a little at the surprisingly kind gesture of Ghetsis's, and pulled the chair open for the girl before sitting down himself at the head, the boy on his right and the girl on his left. The seats of right and left meant nothing to N in this situation Ghetsis was sure, and the sage sat at the other head of the table as the six other sages filed in quietly. The two trainers were obviously uncomfortable with such silence, yet no one was comfortable to break it. The dull clinks of forks and knives cutting into the meatless meal was the only thing occupying the room.

It was wonderful.

It was wonderful because it made N's friends uncomfortable. It wasn't that Ghetsis had anything against them _specifically_, it's just that they seemed to have N doubtful and uncertain about his own convictions, something that could not be tolerated when trying to obtain one of the legendary dragons. N hadn't noticed it yet, though he politely started a quiet debate with the two on the subject of whether or not using natural Pokémon resources like Miltank's milk and Chansey's famously nutritious eggs was good or not. The two trainers agreed with N that taking too much was bad, but they disagreed that it should never be done. Chansey were said to give their eggs out to those who needed it, and if it couldn't do that then what purpose would they have for the unfertilized eggs they laid?

"As for the Miltank," she continued, "it'd probably hurt the Pokémon not to have it milked everyday. Block up and all."

The boy nodded quietly as N gave a thoughtful look to this, turning to look at Ghetsis.

"What do you think, Ghetsis?"

The old man looked up from his nearly untouched plate wishing he had a nice breast of Unfezant instead, and met the curious eyes.

"I believe both of them have good points to think about, my lord, but they forget those who do not see it as so and merely take without giving back. I don't think they would be the... best people to ask, as Trainers, on their opinions of Pokémon usage as such."

The girl looked insulted by his words and he bit back a laugh at the boy's taken back expression. A small frown had settled onto N's face, and he motioned the plates of he and his friends to be brought away by a few Plasma grunts in disguise. The three stood, N pulling out the girl's chair for her before she could protest, and he walked them to the front, murmuring an apology about having them leave so soon after arriving. Ghetsis could hear them thanking him for the meal and the really cool dome he showed them, and that they'd see him again, okay?

Ghetsis dismissed the other sages with an annoyed flick of his wrist and stood himself, waiting by the door to the upstairs rooms for N to come in. And he did, looking rather angry.

"You were very harsh to our guests, Ghetsis."

"I was merely speaking my opinion as you had asked me too, my lord-"

"I was not finished talking, Ghetsis."

Ghetsis was quiet, watching the teenager, and frowned slightly as he continued.

"You may have been speaking your opinions, Ghetsis, but I would like to remind you that it is of the utmost tact that we speak with to our guests, no matter who they may be. The fact they were trainers makes no difference as they are my _friends_," N paused to compose himself, speaking quietly and as quickly as ever. "They are my friends, Ghetsis, I am interested in them and I would like it very much if they would be able to join me in my temporary home as they understand us and our goals, and even if they have a different view they're not _bad_, they're just misguided. They're good to their friends, which is more than I can say about other trainers. Do you understand, Sage Ghetsis? That you are to treat them with respect and with tact? To not accuse them of not knowing when they do?"

Whenever N was worked up like this, Ghetsis would send in Concordia and Anthea to deal with the child. But he was no longer a child, Ghetsis knew, though he would willingly go with the two Goddesses if they appeared. As it were, he would have to deal with the child himself.

"Of course, my lord N." He gave a deep bow, though N was too innocent to know it was mocking, and stepped back as the teen walked past him upstairs. "There's something in your room I would like you to see, N."

N paused in his ascension, looking down at Ghetsis.

"One of your subjects found it in outside of the woods by Castelia City. No trainer was in sight, though it was very badly injured until recently when I had them patch the Sandile up. I apologize for not informing you sooner, my Lord, but we had guests."

N was standing very, very still as if frozen. His voice was strained and shaky when he spoke. "Thank you, Ghetsis, for following procedure without my orders. I will not be down until tomorrow afternoon, so please postpone all meetings until afterwards should there be any." He turned and took two steps at a time up the stairs, turning the corner and walking too fast to see Ghetsis's small smirk.

He gave a small bow to the empty room and walked back down to the laboratory, the knowledge that he would be free to do as he pleased until tomorrow as refreshing as it was easily won. There would be more "injured" Pokémon where that one came from, Ghetsis would make sure of that.


End file.
